Garden Articles
Bringing Butterflies to the Backyard
In spring, female butterflies will be mostly concerned with finding their species’ specific host plants on which to lay fertilized eggs. Instinctively, they know they must find plants to ensure that their caterpillars will have appropriate food for survival after hatching. Both male and female butterflies will be looking for flowers with nectar for their own survival.
Dealing With Drought
Because plants require moisture to grow and thrive, your garden will probably suffer during periods of low rainfall and intense heat. Insufficient soil moisture will result in smaller flowers and fruit, stunted plant growth, decreased root development and increased plant disease and insect damage. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to minimize the impact of drought on your garden.
Summer Watering Tips
As the days heat up, watering can become a dreaded garden chore and too many gardeners use wasteful techniques that use plenty of water but don't give their plants the moisture they really need. Make watering plants easier and more efficient with the proper practices and tools...
Shrubs for Summer Color
Many gardeners assume that the brightest flowers are only seen in spring, but there are many stunning shrubs that have great color all through the summer. Some feature outstanding blooms while others have equally showy foliage and can brighten up any yard. But which will look best in your yard?
Protecting Our Pollinators
Every garden requires pollinators, and bees are among the finest. Without them there would be limited flowers and far fewer fruits and vegetables. Did you know that about 30 percent of the food we eat depends on the pollination of bees, including onions, cashews, coffee, carrots, chocolate and vanilla? If we don’t protect these prolific […]
Top Native Shrubs for Year-Round Interest
We just love incorporating natives into the home landscape! Including native plants is an important part of sustaining local pollinators and wildlife. They are all low maintenance and, wow, are they beautiful!
Crape Myrtles
No yard or landscape should be without a crape myrtle, or two, or three, or… many! How wonderful to have something that blooms so profusely during that time of year when most other plants are looking tired and worn from the summer heat and drought. Crape myrtles blooms in late summer and can be found in flower colors of pinks, lilac, white, reds and purples.
Protecting Trees From Drought Stress
Summer can be the most stressful time of year for landscape plants with heat and drought being the main offenders. When not receiving sufficient moisture, plants are much more susceptible to insect and disease damage.
Variegated Solomon’s Seal
If you don’t already grow variegated Solomon’s Seal in your shade garden, this is the year to start. This charming, visually appealing perennial is similar to hostas, but has its own unique character that will add beauty, texture and interest to your landscape.
Decorating for the Holidays
Whether your prefer a single candle in each window or a 12-foot tree covered with glittering decorations, our ideas will help you create a special home, from the simple to the dramatic!
Outdoor Holiday Decorations
During the holidays we often spend a great deal of time, money and effort to decorate inside our homes, but why not continue that decorating outside? There are so many types of beautiful outdoor holiday decorations, you can make the exterior of your home just as distinctive and lovely for the season as the interior.
Bloom Phalaenopsis, Bloom!
Elegant Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, is said to be the easiest orchid to coax into bloom. Although this is true, you must first be aware of the basic needs of this plant in order to be successful.
Holiday Tree for the Birds
Celebrate the season with your feathered friends by decorating a tree in your yard, or even one in a container, with special treats they'll love.
Now For Something Completely Different… Poinsettias!
They have traditionally been the winter holiday’s most popular plant, the sure and steady standby, but have you seen poinsettias lately? These are not your mother’s poinsettias! Endless selections of bract colors and shapes combined with unique foliage offerings and a wide variety of forms and sizes make this year’s collection spectacular.
7 Top Trees for Multi-Season Interest
Obviously, we love trees. What’s not to love about a tree? As they grow, their photosynthesis removes and stores CO2, thus maintaining a safe oxygen level for us. Additionally, they provide beauty in our gardens and parks. Many provide shade, fruit, syrup, nesting places, animal refuge, even the subject for poems!
